Post-Operative Quality of Life after Single-Visit Root Canal Treatment Employing Three Different Instrumentation Techniques-An Institutional Randomized Clinical Trial

Root canal treatment (RCT) eliminates damaged pulpal tissue and protects the tooth from recurrent microbial invasion. Post-endodontic pain (PEP) is a frequently encountered complication of root canal therapy. It can have an impact on patients' quality of life (QoL) and their subjective perception of treatment options. Thus, a self-assessment questionnaire was used to evaluate and compare the influence of manual, rotary, and reciprocating file shaping procedures on immediate post-operative quality of life (POQoL) involving single-visit root canal therapy. It was a double-blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial. A total of 120 participants were randomly assigned sequentially to three groups comprising 40 patients in each group: Group A: Hand K file (positive control); Group B: ProTaper Next file system; and Group C: WaveOne Gold. Post-operative pain was evaluated using a 4-point visual analog scale (VAS) after 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 1 week. The highest post-operative pain was with manual instrumentation using hand K files, and the lowest was with reciprocating and rotating instrumentations. No significant difference was noted between the parameters of quality of life assessed, suggesting the filing system or technique had a similar effect.

Automated summary

Root canal treatment (RCT) is effective in eliminating damaged pulpal tissue and protecting the tooth from reinfection. Post-endodontic pain (PEP) is a common complication of RCT and can impact patients' quality of life and perception of treatment options. This study assessed the impact of manual, rotary, and reciprocating file shaping procedures on immediate post-operative quality of life (POQoL) in single-visit RCT. The results showed that the type of file system or technique used did not significantly affect the assessed quality of life parameters.